Synopses & Reviews
#1 bestselling author Patricia Cornwell returns to the chilling world of gutsy medical examiner Kay Scarpetta in this suspense classic.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;An unidentified nude female sits propped against a fountain in Central Park. There are no signs of struggle. When Dr. Kay Scarpetta and her colleagues Benton Wesley and Pete Marino arrive on the scene, they instantly recognize the signature of serial killer Temple Brooks Gault. Scarpetta, on assignment with the FBI, visits the New York City morgue on Christmas morning, where she must use her forensic expertise to give a name to the namelessand#8212;a difficult task. But as she sorts through conflicting forensic clues, Gault claims his next victim. He has infiltrated the FBIand#8217;s top secret artificial-intelligence system developed by Scarpettaand#8217;s niece, and sends taunting messages as his butchery continues, moving terrifyingly closer to Scarpetta herself.
About the Author
and#8220;Itand#8217;s important for me to live in the world I want to write about,and#8221; says andlt;b andgt;Patricia Cornwellandlt;/bandgt;, and#8220;If I want a character to do or know something, I try to do or know the same thing.and#8221; The award-winning former police reporter spent time working both as an employee of the Virginia Chief Medical Examinerand#8217;s Office and as a volunteer police officer before she wrote her first Kay Scarpetta novel, andlt;i andgt;Postmortemandlt;/iandgt;. Her preparation paid offand#8212;andlt;i andgt;Postmortemandlt;/iandgt; was the first novel ever to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, Macavity, and French Prix du Roman dand#8217;Aventure awards in one year. She has followed that up with ten other bestselling novels featuring Kay Scarpetta. She then began a new series with her #1 andlt;i andgt;New York Times andlt;/iandgt;bestsellers andlt;i andgt;Hornetand#8217;s Nestandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;Southern Crossandlt;/iandgt;. She is also the author of two cookbooks, andlt;i andgt;Scarpettaand#8217;s Winter Tableandlt;/iandgt; and andlt;i andgt;Food to Die For; A Time for Rememberingandlt;/iandgt;, a biography of Ruth Bell Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham; a childrenand#8217;s book, andlt;i andgt;Lifeand#8217;s Little Fableandlt;/iandgt;; and her #1 bestselling work of nonfiction, andlt;i andgt;Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripperand#8212;Case Closedandlt;/iandgt;. She lives in New York City.